Author's Note: This fictional work operates under the pretenses that Ash and Serena are 15 and 14 respectively during the X, Y & Z series. This fic takes place five years after the end of X, Y & Z, meaning that they will both be of legal age during the whole of this story.

This story is being rewritten in order to improve upon it's grammar. Chapters 1-4 (the only chapters out at the time of writing this) will all be completely replaced in an attempt to both do that, and improve the pacing of the story.

That being said, DISCLAIMER: This story involves major foot fetish themes. If you do not like feet, this story is not for you. I would appreciate it if there were no reviews about how 'the foot thing is weird.'

And with that, let us begin.

Chapter 1: Return to Kalos.

Ash Ketchum was a person who could be described as many things. Kind, loyal, ambitious, caring… oblivious. Ash was a capable and intelligent young man, no doubt about it. But he lacked any comprehension in romance beyond the basics. Although he would notice the signs of attraction, he would not see them for what they were.

Serena, a friend from a few years before he began his adventure into the world of Pokemon could personally attest to this. Ash and Serena had met when Serena had gotten herself lost at a Pokemon Summer Camp hosted by Professor Oak. After a fright from a Polywag resulting in Serena hurting her knee, Ash had given Serena his handkerchief as a good luck charm. He then escorted her out of the woods.

Years later, they would meet up again after Serena had seen her savior on television. She began travelling with Ash throughout the region, both to help herself find a career path that she would be happy with… and to stay a bit closer to Ash, who she had developed a crush on. Throughout their journey, Ash had been oblivious to her crush despite how obvious it had been that Serena had feelings for him. Whenever he noticed her blushing, he would just assume that she might have something physically wrong with her, much to her… was it relief or chagrin? Serena couldn't tell if it was a relief since she was shy about her crush, or sad because Ash wouldn't take her affection as anything other than mutual friendship. Ash had remained oblivious to her romantic affection towards him up until the point when she had run up an escalator going downwards in order to give him a kiss before travelling to the Hoenn region.

No matter how oblivious Ash was, Serena wasn't. She would sometimes think she caught him staring at her, but whenever she looked at him, Ash would turn away, seemingly focused on something else, with no indication he had been staring. This would not happen often, but once Serena was able to catch him staring out of the corner of her eye. She noticed he was staring slightly downwards. She looked downwards, but saw nothing other than her sandal-clad stealthily looked back at Ash, and an idea came to her. Serena tried moving one of her feet, and watched as Ash's eyes followed it. She moved it back, His eyes still followed. Serena finally looked up at Ash, and he quickly looked away. Serena giggled to herself, wondering why Ash had been staring at her feet, but put it out of her mind.

The last time they had seen each other in person had been a long time ago - almost five years. Although they went their different ways, Ash and Serena stayed in contact over the years. Serena had taken part in - and won - many Pokemon contests in both Hoenn and Sinnoh, and Ash had gone on to win a Pokemon league. Both having reached major milestones throughout their journeys, they had decided to meet up, and spend some quality time together.

That was why on this sunny day in Kalos, Serena found herself waiting at the Lumiose City airport, early in the afternoon. She paced back and forth in front of the exit gates, anxiously waiting for her crush to arrive. She had spent the morning looking through her outfits, trying to choose whichever one looked best to impress Ash. She knew that he didn't really care for things like how pretty she might look, but she still wanted him to think highly of her appearance regardless.

"Serena!" Came a familiar voice, jarring Serena out of her thoughts. She looked over to the gates and saw a figure running towards her. Immediately she recognized Ash by his signature red hat, the Pikachu on his shoulder, and the face that she had seen on a screen so many times during the last several years. Serena's face broke out into a grin as she ran towards him, and wrapped him in a hug. Ash paused for a moment before returning the hug, a smile on his face as well.

"Hey Serena. It's been a while. How've you been?" Ash asked as they broke their embrace.

"I've been good! It's great to see you again, Ash!" Serena replied.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu greeted Serena as well.

"I couldn't forget about you Pikachu." Serena gave the yellow mouse a smile, and gently scratched behind his ears, earning a happy coo from him. After a few moments of giving Pikachu some attention, she looked back to Ash.

"It's been years since we last saw each other in person. And your face hasn't changed a bit." she stated with a smile, surveying her companion. Indeed, since they had last seen each other, Ash seemed to have grown ever so slightly taller, and she could see from his frame and a little bit of his exposed arm that his muscles must've been toned to perfection. He was by no means weak when they met, but he looked like he would have no issues picking her up with ease-
Serena realized where her trail of thought was heading, and felt her face begin to heat up. She shook her head slightly, before looking back up at Ash. He was looking at her confusedly, leaning in closer to her face. Seeing her crush leaning in only served to worsen (or better?) the subtle fantasies that were playing in her head, making her blush more intensely. She saw Ash's mouth move, and it took a moment for her to process what he had said.

"Uhh, Serena? You okay? Your face is all red. Do you have a fever or something?" He asked, his usual concerned self. Seeing his friend's face flushed like that meant it was warm. And one's face becomes warm when they have a fever. No more needed to be said, Ash understood the situation perfectly. His Pikachu just took one look and immediately understood the situation, grinning, but keeping his opinions to himself for the moment. It took Serena a few moments to recompose herself to the point where she was able to answer.

"U-uh, no! I'm completely fine, haha!" She told him, a small stutter to her voice. Ash furrowed a brow, scrutinizing her for a moment longer, before letting it go.

"Alright then. I'll take your word for it. But if you start feeling unwell, let me know, okay?" He requested, the sincerity in his voice giving Serena a different kind of warm feeling - one in her chest. Despite his obliviousness to anything romantic, he constantly showed that he genuinely cared for her. She smiled at Ash, and he couldn't help but smile back, reassured.

"So, do you have any plans for the time you're back here?" Serena asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Not particularly. Honestly, aside from just bringing a tent and some basic supplies, I didn't really plan anything out." Ash shrugged.

"Ahh, so you can be more flexible with what you want to do? That makes sense." Serena nodded, understanding Ash's free spirit. "Well, if that's the case… you wouldn't mind if I joined you on your little camping trip, would you?" She asked, eyes shining with hope.

"You kidding? I'd love to have you along with me! The more the merrier, isn't that right Pikachu?" Ash replied excitedly, before asking his first pokemon.
"Pika pika!" The rodent replied with a nod, happy to have an old friend to travel with again.

"Then it's settled. You're welcome to come along, Serena!" Ash stated, grinning. "For the moment, we're going to head over to the Pokemon center and grab some last minute supplies. You game to come along?"

"Always." Serena said with a happy certainty, as she followed Ash as he began walking off in the direction of the center.